Toilet ventilating device



March 17, 1953 E. 1.. NOFSINGER 2,631,298

TOILET VENTILATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVEN TOR.

@HL LAM-mafia J2 /g 4 z ATTORNEY.

March 1953 E. L.'NOFSINGER TOILET VENTILATING DEVICE Filed Jan. 2, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. 51m L /VUFS/NFEQ Patented Mar. 17, 1953 UNITED STATES FATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to an improvement in ventilating devices for water closets.

An object of my invention is to provide a device that is attachable to a water closet in such a manner that air and obnoxious odors therein may be drawn from the water closet bowl and be discharged from the building in which the water closet is contained.

Another object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned in which the seat of the water closet maintains a substantially fixed position, but the weight of a person sitting thereon will bring the device into operation.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that will draw air from the water closet bowl in sufficient quantity to do a good job of ventilating and yet not draw air fast enough that a person sitting on the water closet seat would be conscious of a draft of air coming into the water closet bowl from Without to replace the air being removed therefrom.

' A still further object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is so designed that a substantially large volume of air may be withdrawn from and through the water closet bowl without noise from the velocity or speed of the air travelling through the ventilating device.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is electrically driven and automatically operated and one that is thoroughly insulated so that there is no possibility of a person coming into contact with an electric current.

A still further object is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that can satisfactorily be attached to any water closet that is already in use.

Another object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is applicable for use on single water closets or on batteries of water closets, such as is common in public buildings and the like or the device is applicable for use on two or more water closets positioned one above the other as would be the case where water closets are positioned, one or more on each of several floors of a building.

A still further object of the invention is to provide a device of the kind mentioned that is simple to install, and simple, durable in construction and therefore is long lived. These and other objects will be more fully explained as this description progresses.

Now referring to the accompanying drawings, in which similar numerals of reference designate the same parts throughout the several figures of the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side view of a water closet to which my ventilating device has been applied.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of a water closet to which my ventilating device has been applied, the view,

being as seen from the line II--II in Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail horizontal sectional view through the ventilating device, the view being as seen from the line III-III in Fig. l and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 4 is a detail vertical sectional view through the ventilating device, the View being as seen from the line IV-IV in Fig. 3 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 5 is an enlarged detail side and sectional view of the rear portion of a water closet, showing the hinge mounting for the seat and the installation of the switch operating device for the control of the ventilator electric motor.

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a battery of water closets, all of which are ventilated by my improved ventilator device.

Fig. '7 is an enlarged detail rear view of the damper device employed in the air duct of the ventilator device.

In the drawings is shown any standard water closet C having a base l0 and bowl H having a rearwardly extending portion 12 which receives one end of the flush pipe 13, the other end of which is connected with any suitable flush valve or tank M in the usual manner. The rearwardly extending portion l2 of the water closet C is provided with holes I5 that are positioned through opposite sides of the extension l2 to receive the hinge support legs i8 and I? which are rigidly attached thereto by means of a supporting flange l8 and binding nut IS in the usual manner. The upper ends of the legs IE and ll curveforwardly and are provided with bearing heads Ilia and Ila and one end of a hinge pin 28 is loosely journalled in the bearing head ila and the other end of the hinge pin 20 is slightly movable vertically in a hinge pin slot 2! in the bearing head 16a for purposes that will later be made obvious. One end of each hinge leg 22 and 23 is revolvably mounted on the hinge pin 2E and rests against the outsides of the bearing heads "5a and Na, the other ends of the hinge legs 22 and 23 are rigidly fastened or screwed to the under side of the water closet seat 24. One end of a second pair of binge legs 25 and 25 is rigidly attached to the hinge pin 26 and rockably bear against the opposing faces of the bearing heads I 6a and I la, and the other ends of the hinged legs and 26 are rigidly attached or screwed to the under side of the water closet cover 21.

The ventilator device comprises a wide and shallow mouthed duct 28 that will lay on top of the water closet extension l2 and pass under the hinge pin 25 and fit between the hinge support legs l6 and I7 and extend forwardly beneath the water closet seat 25 to open into the water closet bowl As the duct 28 progresses rearwardly past the bowl extension I2, the bottom of the duct 28 drops and one side turns inwardly and then rearwardly to make the duct 28 higher than it is wide so that the rear portion of. the duct 23 will pass to one side of the flush pipe l3. The front portion of the duct 28 is provided with a plurality of curved bafile plates 29 and 30 to direct the air coming into the wide front end of the duct 28 into the narrowed throat 3| of the rear position of the duct 28.

The bottom of the duct 28 is provided with a pair of oppositely and outwardly extending ear elements 32 and 33 that have holes therein, through which the hinge support legs l5 and I1 pass and the flanges 32 and 33 bear thereon as a means of properly positioning and holding the device on the water closet. The rear portion of one of the side walls of the duct 28 is provided with an air discharge opening 34. 1

The device is provided with a centrifugal fa or blower case 35, one edge of which bears against a closure plate 36 that is preferably made of fiber or an electric insulating material and is positioned against one side of the duct 28 and has an opening 31 therein that is in registry with the opening 34 in the duct 28.

The fan housing 35 is provided with an air discharge tube 35a and the fan housing 35 is provided with a rear wall 38 which has a centrally positioned opening 39 therein for purposes that will later be described.

The fan housing 3 5-38 is contained within an outer housing having a circular shaped side wall 40 and an end closure element 40a. The other end of the housing wall 40' is provided with a pair of outwardly turned lip elements 4| and 4 la that bear against the closure plate 36 and are rigidly held there by means of a plurality of screws 42 which pass through the lips 4| and Ma and are threaded into the adjacent side wall of the duct 28. The housing fill-40a is provided with a recessed partition wall 43 that is preferably made of fiber or an electric insulating material and which is closely fitted therein and one end of an electric motor 44' is fitted and seated in the recess of the partition 43. The other end of the motor 44 is provided with a ring 45 that is made of fiber or an electrical insulating material and is fitted round the rear bearing of the motor 43 and bears against the rear motor case member 44a and the housing closure element 301:. Bolts 46 and 41 are passed through the housing closure element 40a and extend along the sides of the motor 44 and are threaded into the partition wall 53 to urge movement of the partition wall 33 toward the housing closure element 40a and thereby rigidly bind and hold the motor 44 in an insulated position between the partition wall 43 and. the rear housing closure element 40a. The partition Wall 43 is provided with a centrally positioned opening 48 that is in registry with the opening 39 in the blower housing wall 38 and the drive shaft 49 of the motor 44 extends through the openings 39" and 48, and a; blower fan blade assembly 50 is rigidly mounted on the motor drive shaft 59 and is revolvably positioned within the blower housing 353836 and the axis of the drive shaft 43 passes through the center of all the openings 34, 31, 39, 48.

The rear closure plate 40a is provided with a series of ventilation openings 5|.

In the throat 3| of the duct 28 is a valve plate 52 that is hinged at the bottom 53 of a rectangular frame 55 that is snugly fitted between the sides, top and bottom of the throat 3| in the duct 28 and is so balanced that the valve plate 52 will normally stand or rock to an open position.

The lower cross member of the valve frame 55 is provided with a forwardly and upwardly sloping lip member 56 that serves as a support and a stop for the valve plate 52 so that the valve plate 52 may be rocked to a limited degree in opening and closing the valve opening 54. One of the vertical sides of the valve frame 55 is provided with a rear-wardly extending ear like element 57 that is centrally positioned thereon and is adjacent the valve plate 52. Between the ear 5'! and the flange 55a of the frame 55 is a lever element 58 that is slightly spaced away from the adjacent side leg ofthe frame 55 and a pivot pin or screw 59 is passed through the ear 5?, lever 58 and fiange 55a as a pivotal mounting for the lever 58.

The lower end of the lever 58 is provided with an inwardly extending leg element 6|] that is bent forwardly slightly to engage the valve plate 52 to actuate the valve plate 52 as will later be described.

The upper end of the lever 58 is provided with a U-shaped opening 6| in which is snugly positioned an electric switch operating rod 52 which slidably passes through a hole 63 in the adjacent vertical side leg of the frame 55. In the front portion of the duct 28 is a bell crank 64 that is pivotally mounted on a pin 65 that is carried on one of the side walls of the duct 28. Beneath the horizontal leg of the bell crank 65 is a compression helical spring 66' that rests on the bottom of the duct 28 and presses upwardly against the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64. The lower end of the spring 66 is positioned around an upwardly extending pin 61 that is rigidly carried on the bottom of the duct 28. The lower end of a push rod 68 rests on top of the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64 and extends upwardly and slidably passes through the upper plate of the duct 28 and extends on up to and presses against the bottom of the hinge pin 20 to raise the end of the hinge pin 25 in the slot 2| by reason of the pressure of the spring 66 which also rocks the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64 upwardly and the vertical leg of the bell crank toward the spring 65. The lower end of the push rod 68 is provided with a depending pin 69 that is integrally formed thereon and loosely passes through a hole in the end of the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64 and extends on below the leg of the bell crank 64 and into the turns of the spring 66 which serves as a stationing means for the upper end of the spring 55 against the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64.

The lower end of the vertical leg of the bell crank M is provided with a hole in which the front end of the switch operating rod 52 is very loosely positioned and a pin 15 is passed through the lower end of the vertical leg of the bell crank 64 and the end of the switch operating rod 52 positioned therein as a pivotal connection of the rod 62 to the vertical leg of the bell crank 64.

In the rear end of the duct 28 is a push button type electric switch H, the character of which is such that when the push button is pushed the switch will close the electric circuit, and when the push button H is released the switch will break the circuit. It will be understood that the electric motor 44 is in the electric circuit that is controlled by the electric switch 1!. The switch H is contained in a switch box 12 that is housed in the rear end of the duct 28 and the rear end of the switch operating rod 2 slidably passes through the front plate of the switch box '72 and bears against the push button of the switch 'H to operate the switch H as will later be described.

The discharge tube 35a of the fan or blower is connected to a vent pipe 13 that may be positioned either inside or outside the wall of the room in which the toilet is contained and extends preferably upward and to the outside of the building where the air passing .therethrough may be discarded therefrom.

The switch ll is provided with an electric current feed cord 14, the outer end of which is provided with a plug 15 which may be plugged into any standard convenience outlet that would be located adjacent the water closet to supply electric current for operating the device.

The operation of the device is as follows. When a person sits on the toilet seat 2%, the weight of the person will cause the end of the hinge pin to drop to the bottom of the slot 2i, thereby pressing the push rod 68 downwardly and overpowering the pressure of the spring 66 and rocking the bell crank 64 to move the switch operating rod 62 rearwardly, whereupon the switch operating rod will rock the lever 58 which in turn presses against the valve plate 52 and will hold it in its already open position, whereupon air would be permitted to pass from the Water closet bowl ll into the front portion of the duct 28, wherein the baflle plates 29 and 30 will guide the air into the throat 3!, whereupon the air will pass through the valve opening 54 into the rear portion of the duct 28.

Simultaneously with this action, the switch operating rod presses the electric switch button H, whereupon the electric circuit is closed and the electric motor 44 will run and revolve the fan 50 which will draw the air through the duct 23 in the fashion above described and through the openings 34 and 31 into the fan housing 35 from where it is discharged through the discharge tube 35a and the vent pipe 13 to be discharged at the outer end thereof, outside the building. This operation will continue until such time as the person rises from the water closet seat 24, whereupon the spring 66 will rock the horizontal leg of the bell crank 64 upwardly and the push rod 68 will raise the end of the hinge pin 26 to the top of the slot 2 I Simultaneously with this action the vertical le of the bell crank 64 will rock towards the spring 56 and pull the switch operating rod 62 with it, whereupon the lever 58 will be rocked to release its pressure on the valve plate 52 and also release the pressure of the switch operating rod 62, whereupon the switch ll will break the circuit and the motor 44 will stop and as the motor coasts to a stop the air being drawn through the duct 28 will cause the valve plate 52 to rock to a closed position against the valve frame 55 and as the fan comes to a complete stop the valve 52 will again drop under the influence of gravity to its normal open position, and the device is then ready to repeat the foregoing described operation.

As shown in Fig.6, thedevice may be used on a battery of water closets. In this case the individual ducts 28 are not provided with fans because one motor housing 40 and one fan serves for drawing air from each of the water closets A, B, C and D. In this case all the ducts 28 contain the valve and operating mechanism above described and each switch serves to make and break the electric circuit fOr the ventilating fan and the operation of each closet A, B, C and D is the same as above described, except for the fact that the valves 52 in the water closets that are not being used will be drawn to a closed position by the suction of the fan and only the valve in the water closet being used will be forced to stand in an open position because of the depressed seat as previously described.

Obviously the water closets A, B, C and D may be set in a battery as shown in Fig. 6 or they may be set, one or more on different floors of the building and the fan device would be positioned in the vent pipe 13 above the highest water closet and the ventilating operation of each water closet would be the same as above described.

In as much as this is an electrically operated device every precaution has been taken to avoid any possibility of one coming in contact withany part of the device whereby he might come in contact with an electric current and an electric shock, therefore the elements 43, 36, and 45 are made of any suitable non conductor of electricity, such as fiber, hard rubber, plastic material or the like.

Such modifications of my invention may be em= plcyed as lie within the scope of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intention of the invention. Now having fully shown and described my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a toilet ventilating device of the kind described for toilets having a bowl, a toilet seat for said bowl and hinge means attached to said seat and partially carried by spaced apart hinge leg supporting elements carried on a ledge that is a part of the toilet bowl structure; in combination with the foregoing defined structure, a broad and vertically thin vent casing positioned between said hinge legs and between the toilet bowl and seat therefor and substantially covering the said ledge and being held in place by the said hinge legs, said vent casing having a. continuing vent portion at the rear and at one side of the first mentioned vent casing, said continuing vent portion having substantially the same cross sectional area as that of the said vent casing and being positioned with the narrow dimension thereof transverse to the narrow dimension of the said vent casing, a substantially balanced valve plate, normally standing in an open position and being closable by a draft of air travelling from the bowl, said valve plate being positioned between the said vent casing and the continuing portion thereof, a rotary fan, an electric motor for driving said fan, and a combination motor and fan housing, said fanhousing having an intake opening that opens into the rear end portion of the said continuing vent portion and also having a discharge opening for connection to a vent discharge means, an electric switch for controlling the operation of the electric motor, said electric switch being located at the rear end of the said continuing portion of the vent casing and being operable by a push rod, one end of which is connected with the electric switch and the other end of which is connected to the lower end of the vertical leg of a, bellcrank. element for longitudinal movements of the push rod element imparted thereto by the bellcrank, said hinge means having a hinge pin, one end of which is movable vertically in one of the hinge leg elements, a second and vertically positioned push rod, said second push rod being supported in an elevated position by a helical spring positioned around the lower portion of the said second push rod and interposed under compression between the lower wall of the vent casing and the swingable end of the horizontal leg of the bellcrank, the last said swingable end of the bellcrank being pivot-ally attached to the central portion of the said second push rod, the vertically movable end of said hinge pin being supported on the upper end of the said second push rod, a lever, one end of said lever frictionally engaging the said first push rod, the other end of said lever engaging said valve plate to open the valve plate against the draft of air upon the rearward movement of the frictionally engaging push rod with said lever.

2. In a toilet ventilating device of the kind described; the combination of a toilet and a seat therefor, carried on a hinge structure having a 25 hinge pin therein, one end of which is movable vertically in the hinge structure, a vent casing and an extension thereof, said vent casing being positioned with one end thereof adjacent the toilet bowl for receiving air. therefrom; the other end of said vent casing having an electric motor driven fan thereon to draw air from the toilet bowl through said casing and discharge the air therefrom; an electric switch, said electric switch being operable from longitudinal movements of a. push rod operated from vertical movements of one end of the said hinge pin, a valve plate in said casing, said valve plate being balanced to normally stand in an open position and being closable by a draft of air from said toilet bowl and through said casing, and means operable by said push rod for opening and holding said valve plate in an open position against said draft of air so long as the movable end of said hinge pin is retained in its lowered position from downward pressure on the toilet seat.

EARL L. NOFSINGER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,614,622 Mahnken Jan. 18, 1927 1,861,501 Lowther June 7, 1932 2,098,208 Madden et a1 Nov. 2, 1937 2,190,068 Henschler Feb. 13, 1940 

